Glazebrook Station, New Zealand, Gets Rave Review For Red Stag Hunts

Published: December - 2007

Glazebrook Station on the South Island of New Zealand opened this year, offering free-range red stag and fallow deer hunts. The 25,000-acre ranch was one of several hunting properties purchased in New Zealand last year by Westervelt Wildlife Services. In addition to free-range hunts it also features a 3,000-acre estate within the ranch where you can take gold medal red stags, elk, fallow deer and chamois. The ranch had never been commercially hunted when Westervelt bought it.

Well, Glazebrook hosted its first hunters this past March. Among them was Hunting Report subscriber Harold Lee, who gives the place an enthusiastic thumbs-up. He took what he says is an excellent red stag and an outstanding fallow deer during his hunt and reports being surrounded by roaring stags. Lee rates the place excellent all around and gives a special nod to the guides there. They really know their stuff, he says.

We checked in with Kevin McKinstry, manager of Westervelt Sporting Lodges, who told us they are managing the stag and fallow populations on Glazebrook much the way free-range whitetail deer are managed in the United States. Habitat improvement projects on the property include removing select areas of brush and then seeding them with forage. They have also culled inferior stags and introduced stags with better genetics.

The lodge at Glazebrook sits on an elevated point overlooking the Waihopai River Valley. It features a main building with a living area, dining room and kitchen. Four chalets offer guests private accommodations. Other activities available on the property include horseback riding, trout fishing and helicopter tours. Glazebrook is 1½ hours from the Blenheim airport, and the ride to the station takes guests through New Zealand's wine country.

The best time to hunt Glaze- brook is from the middle of February through mid-May. The 1 x 1 daily rate is $500; $350 for 2 x 1. Trophy fees are currently listed as: $3,000 for a silver medal red stag scoring 280-310 SCI; $4,000 for a stag scoring 311-330 SCI (high silver); and........(continued)